An Appeal to Choose Candidates Wisely

India is a country of diversity, and it is exactly this diversity which brings us strength. But more often then not, we all have misused this diversity. We don't stand united when needed, we fight over caste, creed and religion, we push others down to move up, we use short-cut methods and loop holes in Govt. policies to make black money for ourselves...

But this is the time it all has to be stopped. If we want to prosper individually and as a nation, we'll have to change the way we think. The first direction in this regard will be the way we vote in the India 2009 Elections. Let us take a pledge not to vote on basis of caste, creed or religion or on the name of a political party. Remember, none of these political outfits have looked after you for the past 60 years since Independence. We have elected and re-elected some people. There are many who have hold the post iof MP for 15 - 20 years. But sadly, all they have done is looked after themselves. While the wealth of politicians keeps increasing manifolds(see list below), there are numerous people in India who are loosing whatever little they had due to the ongoing economic crisis.

If you do not choose the right candidate even this time, India will not change in the next five years as well. Everything will remain the same. Go out and have a look at your surroundings. You'll find that the area is stagnant. Same bad quality roads, long power cuts, no water supply, poverty all around. Leave aside the artificial splendours such as shopping malls and huge buildings. These are not a symbol of your growth, but a symbol of growth for few builders and developers. You-the common man- still stands where he was 15 years back, looking for basic necessities, while Politicians and some handfull of people amass huge fortunes on the tax payer's money.

It's high time we stop voting on the basis of caste. Political parties for long have divided the Indian society for their own political gains. The subsequent generations have grown with the notion that a yadav votes for a yadav, a brahmin votes for a brahmin, a jat votes for a jat and so on. Even in case of religion, we have politicians shouting vote for non-secular parties. But if you look closely, there's no word as non-secular in India. Every party is after religious votes. All they care is about getting votes, whether from Hindus or Muslims, all political parties try an appease different religions. It's high time to look closely and understand that none of these parties have actually helped us. Whether a Muslim or a Hindu, whether a Bhrahmin or a jat, these politicians, after getting elected, have all united for a single cause: that is to exploit the common man and make huge fortunes for themselves. So, when you go out to vote this year, make sure you vote not for a party, but for an individual who you think is going to remain true to his commitments.

Choose a candidate you think is right, not the one which your caste or religion says. We have all been fooled for long now. This is the time to take a stand against the injustice, this is the time to stand for your own rights, for your upliftment, for your freedom. Every constituency in India will have at least one candidate who is fighting the election for the upliftment of the society, and not himself. He might be from Congress, from BJP, from a regional party, or even an independent candidate. He might be a hindu, a muslim, a christian or a sikh. Identify the person who fights for your cause, and chose him.

Politicians getting richer, common man poorer:

As per The Times of India(7th April), the assets declared by the election candidates have surpassed all expectations. There has been a huge increase in their personal riches, in certain cases going as high as 3000%. Compare this to the common man, who has seen considerable decline in his savings becasue of the ongoing economic slump, and the picture becomes very clear. Consider these two cases which are not just hilarious but also a complete mockerey of our senses:

How can some one justify this? A powerful CM and a powerful politician having assets far less than their children, who are not even known faces. Is there a way to question these people? Yes, there is a. Show them that you understand by voting wisely in the India 2009 elections. Time to wake -up and choose the right political candidate.

Do have a look at funding sources of Political Parties to get a magnitude of how big their earnings can get.

Name

Constituency

Party

2009 Candidates Assets (Rs. Crore)

Deepak Bhardwaj

West Delhi

BSP

600

Khimji Patadia

Surendranagar, Gujarat

Krantikari Jaihind Sena

514

L Rajagopal

Vijaywada

Congress

299

Karan Singh Tanwar

South Delhi

BSP

150

Abu Azmi

Mumbai (NW)

SP

124

Chiranjeevi

Tirupati

Praja Rajyam

88

Y S J Reddy

Cuddapah

Congress

77

Praful Patel

Gondia/Bhandara

NCP

74

Capt Gopinath

Bangalore (S)

Ind

73

Chandrababu Naidu

Kuppam

TDP

69

M K Subba

Tezpur

Cong

60

Prakash Jha

W Champaran

LJP

55

Supriya Sule

Baramati

NCP

53

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Compare this to the asset of the candidates in 2004, chances are you'd go numb. For eg. M K Subba, went from an asset of Rs. 18 Crore to Rs. 60 Crore in just 5 years. But as far as we all know, Tezpur, his constituency, hasn't seen a 4 times growth to justify his earnings.

Name

Constituency

Party

2004 Assets (Rs. Crore)

D K Adikesavulu

Chittoor

TDP

67

Manabendra Shah

Tehri garhwal

BJP

33

Dharmendra

Bikaner

BJP

23

Pratibha Singh

Mandi

Cong

23

Sukhbir S Badal

Faridkot

SAD

21

J M Aaron Rashid

Periyakulam

Cong

21

Rana Gurjeet Singh

Jalandhar

Cong

20

Sunil Dutt

Mumbai (NW)

Cong

20

M K Subba

Tezpur

Cong

18

Devendra S Yadav

Etah

SP

18

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Elections 2009 Map of India:

Mouse-over on the respective state names to know the election dates in that state. Click on the state names for more news.